


To the rescue

by NYWCgirl



Category: White Collar
Genre: Car Accidents, Concussions, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4542348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter and Neal are in a high speed car chase. And unlike in the movies, they don´t tend to end well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the rescue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kanarek13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanarek13/gifts).



> This story fills the ´Accident´ square on my H/C bingo card. It was inspired by Kanarek13, who showed me this wonderful art she made, as a prompt and who was gracious enough to beta read the story.

 

Peter woke because something wet was dripping from his face. He slowly opened his eyes and closed them again. Everything was moving around him. God, he hurt, he couldn´t detect any body part that didn´t hurt. What had happened? He opened his eyes again and slowly realized he was hanging upside down. Had he been in an accident? He tried to organize his thoughts. Finally the cracked windshield came into focus. Ok, he had been in a car accident.

Wait, had he been alone? Had El been with him? Peter slowly moved his head towards the passenger seat. That was not El, it was Neal, he was still unconscious. He needed to do something, didn´t he?

“Neal?” he slurred. Was that his voice? Talking made his head hurt even worse.

“NEAL!”

Peter could see that Neal was coming to when his eyes started to flutter.

“What happened?”

“I don´t know.” Peter slurred.

“I guess from the way we are hanging upside down in the car, we had a car accident.”

Neal checked himself over. He had a bit of a headache, which wasn´t a surprise as they just crashed. Why would Peter crash the car?

And then suddenly everything returned. They had been in a high speed chase. Peter and he had been undercover and when they were made, they had made a run for the car and taken off, followed by their suspects.

They were sure they had shaken them off, when they had been hit from the side. But that meant that they were here too. They needed to get out of the car.

“Peter, we need to get out.”

“Peter?”

When Neal didn´t get a response, he turned to look at Peter. He was still hanging upside down in his seat belt, but his eyes were closed.

“Peter, come on, wake up, we need to get out of here.”

He shook Peter, and although it seemed Peter was aware on some level, he didn´t really wake up. Neal fumbled with his seat belt when it suddenly disengaged and he fell to the roof of the car. He groaned, shook his head and started to crawl out of the car and on to Peter´s side of the car.

Before he checked Peter over, he looked at the other car, but there was none. He frowned. He distinctively remembered another vehicle careening into them. Well, that was something to worry about later, he needed to check out Peter.

“Peter?”

“Peter, talk to me. Come on, you were awake before.” Neal gently shook his partner and eventually he could see that Peter was regaining consciousness.

“Good Peter, come on, wake up, I need to get you out of the car, but you need to help me. I can´t do it by myself.”

“Neal?” Peter whispered confused.

“Yes Peter, it is me, come on, stay with me.”

“What happened?”

“We had a car accident and you must have hit you head, that is why you are confused. But stay with me. I am going to get you out.”

“Neal?”

“Yes, Peter?”

“What happened?”

Neal got worried, his friend had to have a bad concussion to be this confused.

“Peter, I will explain later, but we need to get you out of the car.”

“K.”

But the agent made no effort to get out of his predicament. Neal gently tapped Peter´s face.

“Peter, I am going to loosen the seat belt, but I can´t catch you, you will need to put your hands out and catch yourself, OK.”

“Catch myself?”

“Yes, put your hands against the roof.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” Neal yelled in frustration. He could hear a car driving by slowly, but he couldn´t tell if it was friend of foe, so he needed to get Peter out of the car and to safety.

He clicked open the seat belt and as the agent didn´t made any attempt to catch himself, so he sort of crashed onto the roof of the car. As he didn´t move Neal pulled him quickly out of the car. While he was dragged away from the car, Peter came back to his senses and opened his eyes.

At that moment, a car stopped and Neal could hear two car doors open and close again. They were coming. He needed to do something.

“Peter, are you carrying your back up weapon?” Neal whispered, looked frantically at Peter, who was still trying to get his bearings.

Neal pulled up Peter´s pant leg and sighed in relief. The agent was carrying his back up weapon in an ankle holster. Neal pulled it out just in time as the two henchmen made their way towards them. The C.I. realized they had their weapons drawn and they were sitting ducks here in the open, next to the car. He aimed as best as he could in the situation and pulled the trigger twice.

They dropped as flower bags. Neal let himself fall on his back, his head hitting Peter´s leg. He had averted the treat, but now they needed help. He glanced over at Peter and he could see he was losing his battle with reality again when he started to ask what had happened once more. He didn´t seem to have noticed that Neal had just shot two men. He was resting his head on his arm on the ground.

Neal checked his pockets for his cell phone, but he must have lost it somewhere, because he couldn´t find it. He felt Peter´s pockets, but he guessed Peter´s telephone was in his jacket which was still at the restaurant where they had met their subject.

“Peter?”

“Hmm?”

“Peter, I need to call for help, I need to go back to the car to see if my phone is there. Can you keep awake for me?

“I will try.” He whispered.

“Stay awake, I am getting help.”

Neal wanted to get up, but a piercing pain made him fall back on the ground. He groaned against the pain.

“Neal?”

“Yes.”

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

“Yes, but it’s nothing.”

Neal breathed through his nose to get control over the pain. When he felt it was manageable, he started to crawl towards the car. The pain came back with a vengeance. But he needed to get them help. They weren´t going to walk back to safety, that was for sure.

“Peter, are you still with me?”

“Yes, we were in an accident, right?”

“Yeah, welcome back buddy.”

“What are you doing?”

“We need a phone to call for help.” Neal braced himself when a new wave of pain hit him, but couldn´t keep himself from letting out a moan.

“Are you hurt?”

“Yes.”

Neal rummaged through the car, but couldn´t find his phone, he swore.

“What is wrong?”

“I can´t find my phone.”

Neal started to crawl back but the pain became so bad, he needed to stop.

“Neal?”

“Neal?”

Neal could hear Peter call out for him but he couldn´t answer, he was in too much pain. He needed all his energy not to fall unconscious. Eventually he lost the battle.

 

* * *

 

When Peter didn´t get a reaction from Neal, he looked back at Neal and could see that his eyes were closed. Something was wrong. Why was Neal napping on the job?

“Neal, you can´t sleep while we are working.”

Wait, hadn´t Neal told him he needed a phone? Maybe one of the men that were sleeping in the grass had a phone he could borrow. Peter got up onto his knees and slowly crawled towards one of the men. He kept his head hanging, because it hurt too much to lift it. When he reached the first guy, he asked the man for the phone, but he didn´t respond, so he patted him down and found a cell.

He crawled back towards Neal and dropped to the ground next to him.

“Neal, wake up, I have a phone. What did you want to do with it?”

When Neal didn´t answer, he felt something was off. OK Burke, think, what did Neal want to do with the phone.? What had happened? Peter tried to get his thoughts together. Peter studied his surroundings. There was a car upside down. There had been a car accident. He needed to get help for the passengers. He looked down at his hand and there was a phone. That was a coincidence. His fingers dialed 911 on muscle memory.

 

“ _911, state your emergency_.”

“There is a car upside down?”

“ _Did you have a car accident?”_

“I don´t know.”

“ _That is OK sir, what is your name?”_

“Peter.”

“ _Are you hurt?”_

“I don´t know.”

Was he hurt? He was not sure. His head hurt.

“ _Your head hurts?”_

Did he speak out loud? Peter was confused.

“ _Is there anybody with you_?”

“Neal.”

“ _Neal is with you, can I speak to him_?”

“No, he is sleeping?”

“ _Peter, police and paramedics will be dispatched as soon as we have located your position. Can you tell me where you are?”_

“I am on the ground, Neal is next to me.”

“ _OK, that is good, do you know what road you were going?”_

“I… I don´t remember.”

_“That is OK, Peter, help is on its way. Stay on the line OK.”_

“Kay.”

_“How are you feeling?”_

“My head hurts.”

“ _OK, Why don´t you lay down, but keep talking to me. Don´t hang up, put the phone on speaker_.”

Peter groaned when he placed his head on the ground.

“ _Peter, are you still with me?”_

“Yes.”

“ _Was Neal talking to you before?”_

“Yes.”

_“OK, that is good.”_

Peter didn´t feel too well and he was getting nauseous. He tried to swallow it down, but he didn´t work, and before he knew it he was throwing up.

“ _Peter?”_

“ _Peter, help is on its way. Stay with me, OK_?

But Peter was so tired and he felt so sick, he didn´t answer the dispatcher and he closed his eyes, never realizing that help did arrive.

 

* * *

 

When Peter woke up, it was to a blinding headache. The nausea was so overwhelming that he started retching before he opened his eyes. He felt that he was being turned to his left and when the retching stopped, he could finally open his eyes. He was in a hospital. Why was he in the hospital?

“Hon?” he asked quietly.

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?”

“Bad. Head hurts”

“That is to be expected, you have a bad concussion.”

“What happened?”

“You and Neal were in a car accident.”

“Neal?”

“He is fine, honey, he had surgery, but he is doing OK. We are waiting for him to wake up.”

This was all so confusing, he had been in a car accident and Neal was hurt? He felt sick and tired and he just wanted to sleep.

“´m tired;” Peter slurred.

“It is OK, hon, I will tell the doctor that you woke up. Just rest.”

 

* * *

 

“You are doing good, Neal, come on, can you wake up for us.”

Neal listened to the voice. Who was talking to him? It sounded familiar, but he couldn´t place a name on the voice. He felt sore, but other than that, not too bad actually. But for some reason, he was so tired that he thought it best to fall asleep again.

 

He heard voices who were calling out to him. Neal tried to listen, but it felt he had to claw his way through molasses. He heard the urgency in their voices, so he did his best. The moment he thought he wasn´t going to make it, his eyes opened in little slits and he could see some blurry forms in front of him. He could eventually make out a nurse and a doctor standing next to his bed.

“There you are.”

Neal wanted to greet them, but nothing came out of his mouth.

“Don´t talk, I will get you some ice chips for your throat.”

Suddenly he felt something cold in his mouth and it melted. He carefully swallowed the moisture.

“You are doing well, Neal. You had internal bleeding, but we were able to stop it and you are doing fine, just a little fever, which is not uncommon.”

“How is Peter?” Neal croaked.

“He is doing fine. He has a grade three concussion. So he needs his rest, but he is doing well.”

“Good. I think I will rest some myself.”

“Are you in pain?”

“It is OK.” Neal slurred.

“I will up your pain medication a bit so you can sleep more comfortable.”

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Peter woke up feeling better. The stitches were starting to itch and he had a monster headache, but he could remember his short talks with Elizabeth last night. He couldn´t remember the accident, but the doctor had explained that was to be expected with a concussion this bad. Maybe the memories would come back, but the doctor had told him not to hold his breath.

After breakfast, which Peter had declined as he was still nauseous, the doctor had come in on rounds and had explained that they would perform some tests to see what the damage was. El had gone home last night to sleep in her own bed, knowing that he Peter was taken care of and not in any imminent danger.

Visiting hours were not until two o´clock so hopefully the tests would be done by then. Peter lay on his side and tried to fall asleep since his headaches were still really bad and he felt like he had been put through a wringer.

“Agent Burke?”

“Yes?” Peter answered without opening his eyes.

“The doctor ordered an MRI, we are going to take you there, OK?”

“I don´t feel like moving.” Peter didn´t like the whiny sound he was producing, but he really didn´t want to move, it would make the headache worse.

“No problem, we will take you in your bed. Just tell us if you are feeling sick, OK?”

“I will.”

 

* * *

 

Neal had a rough night, he had woken several times because of the pain and the discomfort from laying on his back. The hospital bed was hard and warm and it made him sweat. But whenever he moved, the pain in his stomach flared up.

When morning came and the hospital came to life, he was so exhausted he had just fallen asleep when the staff came in to wash him. After that, breakfast was served, and then rounds were made. By the time the doctor came by, Neal had fallen asleep again.

He startled when someone lifted his gown.

“Wow, Neal, It´s OK, it´s doctor Murzia. I just want to check the incision.”

Neal relaxed.

“Any pain?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that is to be expected. But it all looks good, no swelling or signs of infection. You are doing well.”

“How is agent Burke?”

“I am sorry, agent Burke is on the neurological ward, and we are on the surgical ward. But if you are feeling up to it, I can ask if someone can take you to see him. You need to get out of bed anyway, it is the best remedy.”

“Yes, please, I would like to see him.”

“OK rest for now, I will ask a nurse to take you after you have rested and rounds are done.”

“Thanks.”

Neal smiled, he would be able to see Peter, that was good. He would just have a quick nap.

 

* * *

 

When Peter was brought back to his chamber, he was exhausted and nauseous. The nurse had injected something in his IV against it, but it had made him sleepy. So he just curled into a ball and fell asleep.

He woke when someone took his hand. He blearily looked at the person who was holding his hand.

“Neal!” he whispered.

“Hi Peter, how are you feeling?”

“Not so good, but the doctors said that is normal with a concussion.”

“I guess that makes sense. Rest Peter, I will come back.”

“No, wait, you just got here.

“Yeah, but I can see you are in pain, so I will come back.”

“No, just stay?”

“OK, no problem, I can do that.”

Neal studied Peter´s face and could see the moment he fell back asleep. The tension left his face and his breathing evened out. Neal stayed in his wheelchair, not planning on falling asleep, but eventually he too lost his battle with fatigue.

That is how the nurse found them, their hands intertwined, fast asleep. She just smiled and left the room. Neal was going to be in a world of hurt from falling asleep in the chair so she asked two orderlies to transfer Neal into the bed next to Peter and to push the beds together so Neal could rest more comfortable. Then she called doctor Murzia to explain that Neal was resting in her ward. Both men would be OK. She would take good care of them.


End file.
